French Laundry Inspired

It’s official! In March the Julia Child Supper Club (JCSC) is branching out. The hostess doesn’t know, but I decided to add a little homemade ‘love note’ flair to the table settings semi-ala The French Laundry!

As mentioned in the November 2012 post on What’s Cookin’ at Hide A Heart Central page of this blog, we members of the JCSC are completely enthralled by the idea of preparing recipes from The French Laundry Cookbook.

Much anticipated by all the cooks, we received the menu a week before the dinner date along with a link to the blog French Laundry at Home where we would find additional tips for each course. I encourage you to check out Carol’s blog. It is absolutely beautiful!

Dressing for Dinner

We are a diverse group, but on one thing we can agree; the importance of dressing for dinner

Sur la Table

Everyone dressed in black and white, and our hostess carried the theme through with her beautiful table place settings. Paying attention to the smallest details, she alternated Black Truffle Salt with Fleur de Sel in individual salt cellars.

Salt Cellars

If you decide to give a French Laundry Dinner Party, you will want to have salt cellars on your table. Should you want a set yourself, click Etsy to find salt cellar listings.

The Cellars above have sold

Amuse Bouche

Upon arrival, each guest was met with a glass of champagne and cornet.

Cornets filed with Salmon Tartare with Sweet Red Onion Creme Fraiche

After which everyone pronounced the Cornets as divine, delicious and delightful!

Appetizer

Parmigiano-Reggiano Crisps with Goat Cheese Mousse

Plate of filled crisps placed upon a white napkin held with a hand calligraphed French Laundry clothes pen, the guests were seated

Fish Course

True Cod with Sweet Parsnips, Spinach and Saffron-Vanilla Sauce

Because I am unable to eat fish having bones, my hostess was kind enough to serve this course to me topped with a lovely scallop

Intermezzo

Lemon Sorbet

A meal worth savoring is worth Intermezzo!

Meat Course

Roasted Rib Steak with Mushrooms, Pommes Anna and Bordelaise Sauce

Pommes Anna served as the bed for the steak

Dessert

Cream of Walnut Soup

Served in her grandmother’s Demitasse cups, Hallie made this exquisite soup–any calls for second servings? To be sure!!

It was a fabulous evening spent in the company of wonderful friends over delicious cuisine! Therefore, you should consider investing in The French Laundry Cookbook and hosting your own French Laundry Dinner.

What we all came to realise was that the recipes in The French Laundry Cookbook are quite complicated and time-consuming to prepare, thus we all now understand WHY dining at The French Laundry will cost you your first-born child + about $1,000 per person!

Additionally, we all agree this was the most elegant meal we have ever prepared and eaten. Therefore, The French Laundry Dinner is now slated to be an annual event.

Bon Appetit!